On the importance of multi-screen for digital ad incumbents

I wrote this a few weeks ago: I’ve said I’m a big believer in multi-screen as one of the upcoming trends in digital advertising. Part of this is because multi-screen is the default option for desktop incumblents. It’s interesting to see that Facebook is embracing this concept of multi-screen but they are in a unique position to really benefit from it because their logged in experience gives them a big advantage since they’ll be able to track their users across desktop, mobile, and tablet.

Here’s the latest from Facebook:

We understand who the user is regardless of whether they’re logged into Facebook on the app or on the mobile phone.”

What I previously said on the advantages of websites with scale that have lots of logged in users: Multi-screen is the default option for desktop incumbents who are staring into a future that’s turning more mobile. As an incumbent, you have to rely on your existing desktop business for current revenues but build for a mobile future and multi-screen is not just the perfect compromise but really the only option.

In this future, properties where logged in experiences are dominant have enjoyed a huge leg up because these were really the only firms that could track users across multiple platforms (and report these metrics to advertisers). We’ll see if comScore helps bridge that gap a bit along with stirring up some activity among advertisers and agencies.